The largest crowd to ever see a Royals home opener went home scratching their heads on Monday afternoon as the hometown team dropped an 8-2 decision to the Mariners. It was the Royals most lopsided home-opening loss ever. 41,788 fans watched Runelvys Hernandez and Ryan Franklin do battle in a good old fashioned pitcher’s duel in the eighth inning, with the Mariners leading 1-0. Then, the proverbial dam broke for Hernandez, as Seattle went on a seven-run rally to put the game away.
Adrian Beltre got things going for Seattle with a two-run homer, then later in the inning Miguel Olivo drove in two more with a single. A batter later, Hernandez was replaced with Nate Field, who surrendered an RBI single to Wilson Valdez and an RBI double to Ichiro Suzuki. Emil Brown and Terrence Long drove in runs in the bottom of the ninth, but it was too little, too late for Kansas City.
Hernandez was ultimately charged with four runs off eight hits, while Field was charged with the other four tallies. Franklin lasted 8 2/3’s to get the win, as every member of the Seattle lineup got a base hit.
Zack Greinke will pitch for the Royals Wednesday afternoon, while Aaron Sele gets the call for the Mariners. First pitch is at 1:10.
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